Hey folks, Harry here with that quirky sister to them other Coens... That's write... I'm talking about the talented member of the family with the terrible agent and no damn good representation. To promote herself she has to draw up Yard Sale-style cardboard signs on broken pieces of white picket fences... She ain't got the respect of even Rodney Dangerfield, but she has ours. Using her sultry charms and long lashes... she turned a few heads long enough to get through many a cool door. Once inside... she decided to report in on the orgies and cults and all the other unsundries... Enjoy...
Everyone knows the Sundance Film Festival really has very little to do with the movies being featured, and everything to do with the parties. Perfect evidence of this had to be the celebration for "Heart of Love", the new film from the team that brought us "The Blair Witch Project". Returning to Sundance a year after their enormous triumph like prodigal sons, directors Dan Myrick and Ed Sanchez proved they still know how to work the media with their shindig for a movie that HASN’T EVEN BEEN FILMED YET. The result was probably the hottest ticket--and most entertaining party--at the Sundance Film Festival.
How do you follow-up the most profitable film in movie history? That was the question journalists and movie-goers alike lined up Thursday evening to find out. As usual, Haxan Films didn’t disappoint. The party kicked off with Myrick and Sanchez introducing a group of individuals dressed in white robes known as "The Lovians". The Lovians proceeded to pass out informational pamphlets on their "religion", which were purposefully vague statements about their "enlightenment". I approached one of the Lovians, who told me that while the religion currently only consists of three members, he felt confident that the movie "Heart of Love" will bring many new followers. In fact, by the end of the night their membership had nearly doubled when they performed a ceremony inducting Myrick and Sanchez into the Lovian religion.
It struck me as funny that nobody really addressed exactly what the movie would be about. Is it a mockumentary on this pseudo-religion? Is it a straightforward story about the dangers of cults? Nobody seemed to know, but that didn’t stop the media from having a field day trying to figure it out. Standing at the bar, I overheard one reporter snipe about the gimmick: "Lightning isn’t going to strike twice for these guys". He then proceeded to chase down Sanchez with his camera crew, leading me to think it’s already working. For more vague, unspecific information about the film and the Lovians, I highly recommend you check out their official site at www.holthemovie.com. It tells you absolutely nothing, but does it in a very entertaining and interesting way.
Another website worth checking out also launched at Sundance, and that’s www.crushedplanet.com. This is a new entertainment network from the people who created HBO’s "Taxicab Confessions", one of my favorite shows of all time (and not just because of the hilarious "Saturday Night Live" parodies). For those of you not fortunate enough to get HBO, the basic gist of the show involves unsuspecting passengers in taxicabs opening up to their drivers, completely unaware they’re being filmed on hidden camera the entire time. Passengers open up about anything and everything, telling their drivers things their own families don’t know.
Crushed Planet is currently offering several new programs in this vein, ranging from a stand-up comedy show to more hidden-camera documentaries. Probably the most interesting part of the site is called "First Apartment" and features a couple living in a San Francisco apartment equipped with several video cameras. The couple’s lives are then broadcast 24 hours a day over the Internet. The really neat thing about this—aside from the fact that the couple is very entertaining in their own right—is that when they’re out, Crushed Planet re-runs a sort of "best of" show, using previous footage. So something is always happening. And unlike a lot of webcam sites, this one features really good streaming video and excellent sound. You can really pick up everything that’s being said between the couple, and nothing is off-limits. Although the couple is aware they’re on camera, they seem to have adjusted to the point where they’re just living their lives normally, not hamming it up or playing to their audience. I don’t think there’s anything else like it on the web, and you should definitely stop by—right after checking out "Heart of Love".
Other than that, most of the parties and launches seemed to blur together. Atom Films had a great party that got so packed it spilled out onto the street and was eventually shut down by the police. But not before I had a chance to catch some great short films, mainly "In God We Trust", a teriffic 16-minute movie from writer-director Jason Reitman. The son of the great Ivan Reitman (saw "Ghostbusters" 13 times one summer), this is one hilarious film about a guy who ends up in purgatory and is being judged whether to be sent to Heaven or Hell. It manages to be funny and poignant, and slips in great jabs at everything from God to David Mamet. There's currently a preview availabe at www.atomfilms.com, but I don't know where or when you can catch the full-length film. But it's definately worth seeking out.
Coen Sister
